564. The Supremes: “Whisper You Love Me Boy”
Here, Diana Ross sounds nothing like Mary Wells, and yet somehow she makes it work, exactly like Mary Wells. (8)
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563. The Supremes: “Back In My Arms Again”
The theme of Motown in 1965 was reinvention, and what this one shows is that even an act with five Number Ones would have to involve themselves in that process a little bit. In the meantime, this is just about as excellent as treading water can be. Take that any way you like. (7)
562. The Freeman Brothers: “Beautiful Brown Eyes”
It does sound good, and that excellent, attention-grabbing sax intro is worth a couple of marks by itself – but barring a perfunctory reprise of the superb intro, I find myself hard pushed to remember anything else about this even a few seconds after it’s finished playing. Never a good sign. (4)
561. The Freeman Brothers: “My Baby”
I’m just not convinced there’s a great deal of song going on here; no real hooks, no real tune, no real chance. Mind you, I bet if they’d given this to the Spinners, it would have worked great. (3)
560. The Hillsiders: “Rain Is A Lonesome Thing”
Dippy, drippy, weepy, sleepy. Nothing about this plodding, hangdog B-side suggests it even came from the same group who’d turned in the turbocharged folk-skiffle psychedelia of the A-side. (2)
559. The Hillsiders: “You Only Pass This Way One Time”
It’s an accidental glimpse of another musical world, and for that I find it an incredibly refreshing and unexpected treat. (8)
558. Stevie Wonder: “Kiss Me Baby”
Far from Stevie’s worst A-side, but yet another disappointing entry in what was fast becoming a disappointing canon; Motown must have wondered if he’d ever land another big hit again. (3)
557. The Hit Pack: “Let’s Dance”
Not awful – I can see how people might even prefer this to the A-side, it certainly kicks more arse – but it’s too aimless (and frankly, too dull) to be my cup of tea. (4)
556. The Hit Pack: “Never Say No To Your Baby”
There’s a cinematic quality about this, elements of contemporary Westerns and future blaxploitation flicks that somehow imbue the record; together with Possibly-Dobyne’s excellent lead vocal, it ends up being both intriguing and undeniably cool. (7)
555. The Temptations: “What Love Has Joined Together”
Pretty much the very definition of Temptations album filler, a pleasant but largely pointless retouching of a song that didn’t have anything wrong with it in the first place. (5)
554. The Temptations: “It’s Growing”
Too much of a glorious mess to have been a huge hit on original release, but it’s both insanely ambitious and impressively executed, and it adds up to yet another excellent side in this magnificent run. (8)
Motown Junkies 